The One that Got Away
by Whatsername Lambert
Summary: Blaine never had the courage to tell Kurt how he really felt. Now he has to accept the fact that Kurt is going to live his life, start a family and be happy...with none other than Dave Karofsky. Prequel to Lessons in Being a Man, but you don't need to be familiar with that in order to understand this. Oneshot.


**I've been working on this here and there for the past couple weeks. For some reason, I got the idea in my head that I wanted to do a prequel to Lessons in Being a Man and, well, this is what happened. You don't have to be familiar with LiBaM to read this; although it takes place in the same verse, the events of this story happened BEFORE LiBaM so it can still make sense either way.**

**If you've read Lessons in Being a Man, you might have noticed that it's basically a story of "what if?"s. What if Kurt had stayed at McKinley? What if Blaine had stayed at Dalton? What if they'd never dated and just kept on being best friends? What if Kurtofsky happened? What if Blaine had never had that talk with Burt about Kurt and safe sex? This story and LiBaM answer all those questions and more. And yes, the main couple in this is Kurtofsky, but I also tried to include as much Kurt and Blaine as I could, even though they're not romantically involved. Yet.**

**To be consistent with LiBaM, Kurt and Blaine are the same age in this (with Blaine being a few months older). I had started writing that one before the Glee writers randomly decided to make Blaine a junior, so yeah. Title is obviously taken from the Katy Perry song. As for trigger warnings: uhhh, a bit of language, and…I don't want to say rape, but if you've read LiBaM you know that Kurt's first time occurred under less-than-desirable circumstances, and that's in here. A bit graphic. I think that's it.**

* * *

><p>THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY<p>

_High school, senior year_

It all started innocently enough, when Blaine invited Kurt over one afternoon to study.

Sure, they went to different schools – Blaine was at Dalton Academy while Kurt was still toiling away at McKinley – but sometimes they liked to get together to work on homework and talk about their day. Blaine would never admit it out loud to anyone, but these little study dates with Kurt were his favorite part of the week. Even if he would never have the courage to admit his true feelings to his best friend, he still enjoyed Kurt's company tremendously.

But when Kurt made one seemingly nonchalant comment, Blaine had no idea that his entire life was about to be turned upside down. He had no idea that years later, he would regret not doing something to change Kurt's mind during that conversation. After all, it seemed like a perfectly normal afternoon. Kurt was sprawled out on Blaine's bed, lying on his stomach with his head resting in his hand as he worked. Blaine was kicked back in his desk chair across the room. The radio was playing quietly as background music, turned to the local Top 40 station which was currently playing that new Katy Perry song about matching tattoos and stealing liquor and lost loves.

"So the weirdest thing happened today," Kurt quipped as his pen flew across the page in his French notebook, mindlessly scribbling out conjugations he knew by heart.

Blaine looked up from the issue of _Rolling Stone _he'd been reading instead of writing his five-page paper for AP Government that was due in two days. "What's that?"

Kurt responded without looking up from his notes and spoke as if what had happened were the most normal thing in the world. "David Karofsky apologized to me."

Blaine immediately dropped his magazine, letting it fall carelessly into his lap. "_What_?"

"I know. It was completely out of the blue. I got called down to Principal Figgins's office, and Mr. Schue was there, too. Then I saw David. Figgins told me that he had talked with David and his parents, and that David had something he wanted to say to me." Blaine couldn't help but notice the way Kurt was referring to his perpetrator by his given first name. "David looked at me, straight in the eyes, and said, 'I'm sorry for the way I treated you, Kurt. I'm so sorry. I guess I just did all that stuff to you because I was too afraid to accept myself.'"

Blaine narrowed his eyes. "What the hell did he mean by that?"

"Oh, you're never going to believe this." Kurt smirked; Blaine immediately knew that meant he had a dirty secret. "David's gay."

Blaine pursed his lips and tilted his head to the side as he considered this. "Actually, that's not so hard for me to believe."

"That's true," Kurt admitted, pursing his lips. "I guess I figured it out when he kissed me last year."

Blaine felt like his heart had shattered into pieces when Kurt brought that up. He didn't think he could ever forgive that asshole for stealing Kurt's first kiss with a boy, which was supposed to be so sweet and special for him. It still made Blaine unbelievably angry to think about it, but he forced himself to remain calm.

"Do you think he meant it?" he finally asked.

Kurt shrugged one shoulder. "I guess so. I mean, Figgins and Mr. Schue were there, too. For some reason I get the feeling he wouldn't have apologized like that unless he really meant it, especially because there were adults there." He paused and thought for a second. "Plus, now that I think about it, Figgins _did _mention that David had come to him personally and asked if he could have the chance to apologize to me like that. I think he really meant it."

Blaine couldn't help noticing that there was a slight hesitation in Kurt's tone, as if the other boy had something else to say but didn't want to say it.

"What?" Blaine asked in response.

Kurt smirked wryly. "What, what?"

"There's something you're not telling me," Blaine observed.

Kurt buried his face in his hands and shook his head. "No. I can't say it."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to admit it even to myself."

Blaine nodded understandingly when he heard the strained tension in Kurt's voice as he spoke. "All right."

He turned back to _Rolling Stone _and Kurt resumed writing conjugations in his notebook. A heavy silence filled the air for a moment before it was broken.

"What would you think of me if I said I wasn't completely repulsed when David kissed me?" Kurt blurted out of the blue.

Blaine blinked, unsure if he'd heard Kurt right. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know." Kurt was blushing furiously; his voice thick with embarrassment. "I guess what I'm trying to say is…I didn't hate that kiss as much as I'd like to think I did. In fact…I think I might have liked it."

Blaine marinated on this for a second, trying to guess why on earth Kurt would have gotten any enjoyment whatsoever out of that kiss. He took a shot in the dark.

"Because it was the first time you'd ever kissed a boy?" It was a lame guess, but Blaine couldn't think of any other reason.

Kurt shook his head. "Not just that," he said softly. "I think…I think I like him."

He may as well have plunged his hand into Blaine's chest, ripped out his heart, torn it into a million pieces and set those pieces on fire.

"D-Dave?" Blaine asked, trying to keep his voice even. He knew perfectly well who Kurt was talking about, but he was under the strange delusion that maybe saying it out loud would make it untrue.

Kurt nodded slowly. When he spoke, his voice was a whisper. "Yeah."

Now, Blaine knew he had two options. He could try to convince Kurt that Dave was totally wrong for him and try to convince him to set his sights elsewhere, or he could encourage his friend to follow his heart, no matter how much his own heart may break as a result of it.

Blaine knew that going with the first option would just be selfish. Before he knew it, he heard himself saying, "And you said you believed him when he apologized, right?"

Kurt didn't say a word, only nodded.

"Then I guess all you can do is see where your heart takes you," Blaine told him. "He obviously feels _something _for you. He wouldn't have kissed you if he didn't. Just see where your relationship with him goes from here and let what happens…happen."

He didn't know it at the time, but it was the worst advice he possibly could have given his friend.

But Kurt didn't know that, either, so he gave Blaine an appreciative smile that sent the other boy's heart into a complete flurry of palpitations.

"Thanks, Blaine," he told him sincerely. "I…I don't know what it is about him, but…I just can't help but feel drawn to him. I know you probably think I'm crazy after everything he put me through, but…"

"No, no, I don't think you're crazy," Blaine interrupted gently. "The heart wants what the heart wants, right? Like I said, as long as you're absolutely sure he was sincere in his apology."

Kurt nodded. "I'm positive."

"And you know that no matter what you decide to do…I've always got your back," Blaine reminded him.

"I know," Kurt said with that same beautiful smile. "I appreciate that, Blaine. Thank you."

He hesitated for a moment, then squinted at Blaine's magazine cover. "You're still reading that? Don't you have a paper to write?"

One of Blaine's favorite things about Kurt was the way he breezed from serious conversation to lighthearted banter so easily. But that didn't matter now, because the point Kurt had brought up was absolutely right.

"But reading about Adele is so much more interesting than typing up some dumb paper on whether strict constructionism is a better method of constitutional interpretation than judicial activism," Blaine complained, somehow managing to say all those words in one breath.

Kurt raised one eyebrow. "You lost me after 'Adele.'"

"We're on our judicial branch unit in AP Gov," Blaine said simply.

Kurt laughed. "I'm surprised at you, Blaine Anderson. You want to be a lawyer so much, I would think you'd be all over something like this."

Blaine shrugged one shoulder and flipped a page in his magazine without looking up.

"Yeah, well, people surprise you sometimes, I guess," he said softly.

They went back to comfortable silence, Kurt finishing up his French homework and completely unaware of the fact that Blaine was peering at him over the pages of his magazine. He definitely felt something for Kurt, that much was certain. Blaine tried to admire him as inconspicuously as possible, but it was hard not to just stop and stare all together. Kurt was so breathtakingly beautiful that simply looking at him did unimaginable things to Blaine's heart.

But he could never tell Kurt how he felt. No. That would just be downright stupid, because Blaine knew there was no way in hell someone as perfect as Kurt could possibly reciprocate his feelings. Plus, confessing his feelings could possibly ruin their friendship, and Blaine didn't want to risk that. He would rather have Kurt as just a friend than not at all.

The longer Blaine looked at him, though, the more it tore him apart to think that his chance to keep Kurt for himself was slipping right through his fingers. Blaine knew his best friend extremely well and there was no doubt in his mind that if Kurt wanted to be with Dave, then Kurt was going to _get _Dave. Blaine didn't have much longer to try to convince him to change his mind.

Kurt began chewing on his pen as he squinted at his notebook, deep in thought, and Blaine's fingers clenched tighter around the pages of his magazine. _That stupid pen is getting more action from Kurt's mouth than I ever will if I don't say something_.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. This was it. Now or never. He had to tell Kurt how he really felt; otherwise he wouldn't even have a chance to be with him. If Blaine at least put his feelings out there, then Kurt would know his options. And maybe – just maybe – he'd pick Blaine.

"Kurt?"

His best friend's head whipped around at the sound of his name. Suddenly Blaine had fallen victim to those mesmerizing eyes, which seemed to cast a spell on him even as Kurt said something as simple as, "Yeah?"

Blaine's nerves got the best of him just as quickly as he'd worked up the confidence to tell Kurt the truth about how he felt. He sat there paralyzed with fear for a few seconds; it took every crumb of his willpower not to let his trepidation show on his face. _I can't do this. I can't tell him. It'll just make things weird between us and I can't stand the thought of losing him_.

"Can you toss me my flash drive? It's on the nightstand…I guess I should probably start my paper."

Kurt shifted on the bed and turned around to grab Blaine's flash drive off of the nightstand. He tossed it to Blaine, who caught it one-handed before turning to plug it into his computer. "Thanks."

Blaine began mindlessly typing his paper without paying attention to what the words materializing on the screen said. All he could focus on was the voice in the back of his head, telling him he'd made a huge mistake.

_Should've told him…oh well, guess you didn't have the guts. I guess now you'll just have to regret this_.

xxx

The text came unexpectedly, completely out of the blue. Kurt was in the cafeteria at his usual table with his friends from New Directions when his phone vibrated.

_Meet me in the choir room. _It was from Dave. Kurt's heart started racing just a little bit faster. It was nothing like the adrenaline rush he got when Blaine texted him, but Kurt had basically given up all hope of anything beyond friendship with Blaine by this point. At least he still had Dave. Things had changed dramatically between Kurt and his former bully over the past few months. After Dave's apology to Kurt in the principal's office, they'd slowly progressed from being bitter rivals into friendship. And that meant that Kurt was no longer as scared as he'd once been to acknowledge to himself the fact that he may have had a little crush on Dave.

Sure, Kurt had always thought the jock was kind of cute in his own way. He would never admit it to anyone, not even Blaine, but the worst part of the physical torment he'd suffered at the hands of Dave wasn't the fact that he was being bullied for who he was. It was because someone he legitimately found himself attracted to was the one doing the bullying. Now that things had become better between the two of them, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest and he was free.

He excused himself and got up from the lunch table, making his way out of the cafeteria and down the hall with sweaty, clammy palms. He wiped them on his skinny jeans and took a few deep breaths, trying to remain calm. He had no idea what was in store for him when he reached the choir room, but something made him keep going towards that door.

The door was open when he arrived. Dave was standing near the piano, looking unsure of himself. Kurt warily stepped into the room.

"Hi," Dave said quietly when he saw Kurt. "Can you shut the door?"

Without thinking about what he was doing, Kurt turned around and closed the door behind him. He was completely alone, completely vulnerable.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but why are we here?" Kurt asked softly. "Couldn't you come and talk to me in the cafeteria? I have lunch this period, y'know."

"Because I want this to be just between you and me," Dave said. His voice sounded careful, almost hesitant. "And because I know you feel safe in here."

He took a step towards Kurt and held out a single red rose. Kurt hadn't even noticed he'd been holding the flower at his side.

"This is for you." Dave's voice was practically a whisper as he handed Kurt the rose.

"David, what's going on?" Kurt's voice broke when he finally managed to speak.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Dave said, finally meeting Kurt's eyes. "I only hurt you because I was jealous. You had the balls to be out and proud, and I didn't. It killed me. I feel so horrible, Kurt. I'm _so _sorry, and I'll never hurt you again. I promise."

Kurt blinked, suddenly very confused as to why Dave was telling him this. "That's very sweet of you to say, David, but you've already apologized to me. You don't have to tell me again. I've forgiven you."

"Yeah, but…," Dave hesitated for a moment before he continued. "I feel like I need to say it again. I…I think I'm in love with you, Kurt."

Kurt was surprised his jaw didn't just hit the floor. This was the last thing he'd been expecting to hear.

"W-_what_?" he asked in disbelief, because he must have heard Dave wrong.

"Please don't freak out on me, okay?" Dave begged. "I said I _think_. All I know for sure is that I feel some pretty powerful stuff for you. I…I think you're _gorgeous_, for one thing, and you're so funny and talented and just all around amazing…and oh, god, this is weird because I've never let myself say any of this stuff out loud before...admitting that I'm attracted to another guy…I'm sorry, Kurt, I'm probably freaking you out. You can go if you want."

Kurt had never seen Dave like this before. He had to admit, the way Dave was completely baring his soul and putting himself in a very vulnerable position made Kurt feel good. Nobody had ever _wanted _him like this before. He stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on the side of Dave's face.

"Hey," Kurt said gently as Dave relaxed into his touch. "Don't beat yourself up, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

Neither boy said a word for a few moments. They stayed perfectly still, looking into each other's eyes as they tried to figure out what the other wanted.

Dave was the first to put his desires so explicitly into words.

"Kurt, I want to kiss you," he confessed after a while. "And I want to do it right this time. I still feel awful about how I pretty much forced myself on you last time. I…I want it to be special for you, because after the way I treated you…you don't deserve anything less."

Kurt should have stopped it right there. He should have stepped away and told Dave that he wanted to be friends, nothing more, but he didn't. He wouldn't know it until years later, but what he did next was the worst possible action he could have taken.

Instead, he let his eyes linger on Dave's for a few seconds longer before reaching up to put his other hand on the back of the other boy's neck and pulling him closer, finally kissing him softly and sweetly on the lips.

The kiss was simple and tender and only lasted for a few seconds before Kurt pulled away and gave Dave the tiniest of smiles.

Dave, on the other hand, had allowed a huge grin to spread across his whole face. Kurt had to admit, it was kind of adorable.

"_That _should have been our first kiss," he said breathlessly.

Kurt nodded. "I couldn't agree more."

"Do you…," Dave began carefully, then shook his head and started over. "Would you like to go out to dinner tonight? I want to take you on a real date."

Kurt let his face soften into a slightly bigger smile. "I'd love that."

"Cool," Dave said happily. His expression turned to one of hesitation after a few seconds. "C-can I kiss you again?"

Kurt had to laugh at that. "David, you don't have to ask."

They kissed again, both of them smiling as their lips met. For the first time in a while, Kurt was truly happy. He had a boyfriend – at least, he hoped Dave would be okay with using that word – who wanted to kiss him and take him out on dinner dates. Earlier this year, if anyone had told Kurt he'd be in this position, he would have unrepentantly laughed in their face.

But despite his utter happiness, Kurt was hiding something underneath it all. Every time he closed his eyes and moved in to kiss Dave, he was imagining that it was Blaine beneath his lips.

xxx

Blaine looked around at all the tables and chairs they'd just finished setting up, then turned to see what Kurt thought. "This good, or do you want to move anything?"

Kurt pursed his lips and nodded. "I think we're good," he said with a smile.

The back door opened and Burt Hummel appeared, carrying some packages of hamburgers and hot dogs which he placed by the grill. He chuckled a little bit as he looked at the setup in the backyard. "I ran to the grocery store for ten minutes to get some extra burgers and dogs, and you guys finished getting everything set up. I gotta admit, I'm impressed."

"And we didn't even have Finn with his extreme lifting abilities around to help," Kurt said proudly. His smile fell and he squinted in confusion. "Hey, where is Finn, anyway? This is his graduation party, too."

"He went to pick up Rachel," Burt explained. "Should be back any minute. Hey, speaking of boyfriends and girlfriends, when's Dave getting here? I thought you said he was gonna come a little early."

At that moment, as if on cue, the gate swung open and Dave Karofsky made his way into the backyard. _Speak of the devil_…

Blaine felt every single muscle in his body tensing up when he caught sight of Kurt's boyfriend. Seeing the two of them together always brought the same sinking feeling to his heart as when he'd first seen _Kurt Hummel is in a relationship with Dave Karofsky _on his Facebook newsfeed a week and a half ago. He tried so hard to be happy for Kurt, because Kurt was obviously so happy. But, Blaine thought, wasn't there anyone else in the world that Kurt could be happy with, _besides _his former bully?

Kurt's entire face lit up in a smile and he broke off running to meet his boyfriend in the middle of the yard. "David!"

It hurt to watch, but Blaine couldn't take his eyes off the couple as Kurt literally leapt onto Dave, wrapping his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist. Blaine blanked out for a second as he stared at those long legs and briefly wondered what they would feel like wrapped around him (hey, cut him some slack, he was a teenage boy with raging hormones and a massive unrequited crush on his best friend). The couple shared a brief kiss before Kurt jumped down to stand on his own feet again. He took Dave's hand and practically skipped back over to where Blaine and Burt were standing with his boyfriend in tow.

Dave's face immediately fell when he saw Blaine standing there. "I was kinda hoping I'd be the first non-relative here, but I guess Blaine already showed up," he said to Kurt as if Blaine weren't even there. "I thought I recognized his car in the driveway."

Blaine smiled politely, well aware of the fact that Dave was unhappy to see him. "I didn't have anything else going on, and I figured Burt and Carole would have their hands full since this is a double party for Kurt _and _Finn, so I just came to help set up."

"He invited himself over," Kurt clarified with Blaine's favorite smile. "I tried telling him we could handle it, but he didn't listen to me."

Suddenly it became glaringly obvious that Dave wanted to shift the focus of the conversation away from Blaine. He turned to Kurt with that stupid I'm-such-a-perfect-boyfriend smile that made Blaine want to throw up. "Happy graduation, baby."

"Mmmm, I'm so happy to see you," Kurt hummed in content. He wrapped his arms around Dave's neck and stood up on his tiptoes to give him a kiss.

Burt immediately excused himself to go back into the house and bring the rest of the food out. Blaine, with nothing to do, was left in the extremely awkward position of the third wheel. He watched Kurt giggle and blush as he kissed his boyfriend and tried not to think about how much he would have given to be in Dave's place. How much he would give to feel Kurt smiling beneath _his _lips, to feel the heat from that beautiful blush as Kurt kissed _him_. Blaine knew there was no way in hell that he'd ever get to experience that for himself, but that didn't make it any easier to watch.

After a few awkward and painful seconds, Blaine cleared his throat. "Hey, um, I'm gonna…go…help Burt and Carole with the food," he said, knowing full well that Kurt and Dave weren't paying attention to a word he was saying. They were too wrapped up in the kiss and in each other.

He turned away from the couple and forced himself to walk back towards the house. In the back of his mind, he knew that his decision to leave them alone was less about giving Kurt and Dave privacy and more about the fact that watching them hurt his heart too much.

xxx

Dalton Academy graduated its seniors two weeks after McKinley did, so the night of Blaine's graduation, Kurt found himself in his best friend's backyard at his party, making a valiant effort to enjoy himself.

It had taken a lot of convincing to get Dave to come with him to Blaine's graduation party, but eventually his boyfriend had caved – only after reminding Kurt that they weren't going to stay long. When they'd arrived, Dave had been doing everything in his power to keep Kurt away from Blaine, always finding new people to talk to and dragging Kurt along with him. Kurt had nothing to do but let his eyes sweep the backyard for Blaine and watch longingly as his best friend talked with his relatives or goofed off with some of his Dalton buddies.

When the sun was finally starting to go down, Dave had apparently had enough.

"I'm bored," he announced to Kurt. "Let's get out of here."

Kurt raised one eyebrow. He'd been getting slightly annoyed that Dave had been keeping him away from Blaine all night, not even letting him talk to his friend for a brief second to congratulate him. He knew Dave and Blaine had never gotten along very well, but at least Blaine made an attempt to be civil whenever the two of them were around each other. Dave could be downright rude sometimes.

Well, two could play at that game. "I'm not leaving until I get to say hi to Blaine."

Dave scoffed and took a sip from the pop can he was holding. "You don't need to do that."

Kurt stared at him in disbelief. "Yes, I do. He's my _friend_, David, whether you like it or not. I'm not just going to come to his party and completely blow him off. You haven't even let me near him all night."

"I'm sorry for wanting to spend time with my boyfriend," Dave commented mockingly. "I didn't even want to _come _to this stupid party. I barely know anyone here. I knew I wouldn't have fun."

"I have been _trying _to have fun, and you're doing everything possible to ruin this for me," Kurt hissed. "I _just _want to say hi to Blaine. I'll be _right _back."

He turned on his heel and marched confidently across the Andersons' large backyard, towards where Blaine was tossing a football with some of his friends from the Warblers. Kurt called out to get his attention once he was close enough; Blaine tossed the football to Wes and jogged over to Kurt.

"Hey," he said, smiling that little smile that never ceased to take Kurt's breath away. "I've barely seen you all night, what's up?"

Kurt didn't speak for a second because he was slightly preoccupied with admiring how amazing Blaine looked. His hair was ungelled, curly and natural and incredibly soft-looking; he was dressed as the epitome of casualness in a Buckeyes t-shirt and athletic shorts. He looked nothing like he usually did, with his hair slicked back and dressed in all his Dalton-blazered, perfect-gentleman, future-attorney glory. It didn't matter. Kurt still thought he was breathtakingly handsome.

"Nothing," Kurt finally managed to say, unable to hold back a smile of his own. "I just…David and I were about to leave, and I knew I couldn't go without saying _something _to you."

"Don't worry about it," Blaine told him, laughing a little bit. He paused briefly before continuing.

"I'm really glad you could make it," he continued softly. Kurt couldn't help but notice the way his gorgeous hazel eyes sparkled in the glow of the sunset on this warm summer evening. Something about the way Blaine was looking at him seemed almost magical.

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world," Kurt told him honestly.

They shared a lingering gaze, tiny smiles gracing both of their faces. As Kurt looked into Blaine's eyes, he was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to kiss his best friend sweetly and passionately in the hot summer night. He wanted to wrap his arms around Blaine's neck and pull him closer, until they were so close that Kurt could finally get a taste of those lips he'd been secretly craving for the longest time. Just one kiss. One taste. He just wanted to find out for himself what kissing Blaine was like.

If Dave hadn't been standing fifteen feet away, watching the two of them like a hawk, Kurt might have done just that.

But the fact of the matter was that Dave _was _watching them, and Kurt knew that keeping his boyfriend waiting much longer wasn't the best idea. He gave Blaine an apologetic smile. "I should get going."

"Okay," Blaine said quietly. "Bye, Kurt."

Kurt went over to where Dave was standing, only to have his boyfriend grab his hand and pull him out of the backyard with an almost angry fervor. Once he was in the passenger seat of Dave's truck, Kurt couldn't help but ask the question he already pretty much knew the answer to.

"What is your _problem_?" he practically shouted as Dave started the engine.

"I think you know exactly what my problem is," Dave growled as he practically floored the gas and sped off down Blaine's street. "Or I should say, _who _my problem is."

"Blaine?" Kurt asked, playing stupid.

"Yeah. Anderson," Dave clarified. "'Oh, I'm so smart, I went to Dalton and now I'm gonna go to OSU and study pre-law so I can be a lawyer and make a shit ton of money someday. Maybe Kurt will love me when I'm rich,'" he teased in a bad impersonation of Blaine's voice.

Kurt squinted at him in disbelief. "Are you _kidding _me? First of all, Blaine is not a pretentious douchebag. Second, what in the world makes you think he would _ever _want me?"

"I'm not stupid, Kurt. I've seen the way he looks at you." Dave was gripping the steering wheel with so much force that his knuckles practically turned white.

"That doesn't mean anything!" Kurt felt tears of frustration welling up in his eyes and forced himself to blink them away. "Whatever you see isn't really there. Blaine and I are _friends_, okay? Whether you like it or not, he and I are going to be _friends_."

Dave let out a sigh as he drove. "I guess there's nothing I can do about it. But I don't get why you want to spend so much time with him."

"So I'm not allowed to spend time with my friends now?" Kurt asked bitterly in response.

"I don't have a problem with any of your other friends," Dave said with a shrug. "Only Anderson."

Kurt couldn't believe this discussion was even necessary. Why shouldn't he be friends with Blaine? "And why? Because he's _gay_?"

"Exactly," Dave told him. "And I wouldn't even have a problem with that, except for the fact that he looks at you like you're something to eat. You can practically _see _him undressing you in his mind."

Kurt was well aware that he'd been doing nothing but asking incredulous questions for most of the car ride, but he didn't care. He felt tears welling up in his eyes and blinked rapidly in a herculean effort to hold them back. He'd be damned if he let Dave see him cry.

"What the hell are you even talking about?" he asked weakly.

Without warning, Dave pulled over and stopped the car. It was dark by now; Kurt couldn't tell where they were, but his eyes were wide with fear as his boyfriend slammed on the brakes. When Dave yanked the gear shift into Park and ripped the keys out of the ignition, Kurt knew they'd be here a while.

"I'm sorry!" Dave shouted. "I'm sorry that I have the most _gorgeous _boyfriend and I want to keep him all to myself. I'm sorry that I get jealous when I see other guys checking him out. I'm fucking _sorry_, Kurt, okay?"

He collapsed into sobs against the steering wheel. Kurt, who had finally managed to blink away his own tears, let his affectionate instincts take over. He leaned over to wrap his arms around Dave's broad shoulders and let his head rest on his boyfriend's back.

"David?" he whispered hesitantly.

"Yeah?" was Dave's muttered response.

Kurt bit his lip before he spoke again. "I'm not leaving you," he said. "I don't want to be with anyone else. I don't want to be with Blaine. I want to be with you."

It was a complete and utter lie, and Kurt knew it. In reality, he wanted to be with Blaine more than anything in the world and had merely settled for Dave, because the jock was the only attractive, decent guy who had ever taken anything close to a romantic interest in Kurt. He wondered if Dave knew it was a lie, too.

But his boyfriend simply relaxed and turned to take Kurt in his arms. "Thank you," he said gently. "That's what I needed to hear."

They stayed there for a long time, neither of them saying a word. Kurt tried to relax into Dave's embrace, but he still couldn't help feeling awful for making his boyfriend so upset. He wanted to make it up to him…and after thinking silently for a few minutes about how to do that, Kurt could only come up with one idea.

He slipped out of Dave's arms and climbed into the backseat of the truck.

Dave turned around, trying to figure out what was going on. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"Come back here with me," Kurt said, attempting to keep his voice steady.

Dave stared at him for a few seconds longer before shrugging and crawling over the front two seats to get to the back, where Kurt was. Kurt took a deep breath and closed his eyes when his boyfriend settled in beside him and kissed him deeply. He was trying not to think about how far this could possibly go, and also the fact that he would have essentially no idea what to do if it _did _get that far. He tried his best to relax into the kiss.

The kissing part was easy. All Kurt had to do was keep his eyes closed and kiss Dave back, imagining the whole time that he was kissing Blaine. He wasn't quite sure how that always managed to happen – yes, he was attracted to Dave and Dave was his boyfriend, but for some reason his mind always kept coming back to Blaine. And he didn't necessarily have a problem with that. As long as he didn't do something embarrassing like moan Blaine's name out loud, he figured, he should be fine.

But then things got a little more intense and hands began to roam freely. Before Kurt knew it, his clothes were being taken off.

Okay. Kurt tried to remind himself how to breathe. Maybe this was happening a little bit faster and going a little bit further than he anticipated, but he wasn't going to stop Dave. If there was anything Dave needed, it was reassurance that Kurt belonged to him and only him. He only hoped Dave had some idea of what he was doing, because other than the basic details, Kurt had no idea what to expect or how to do this.

He felt his face turning unbelievably warm as Dave yanked off his jeans and boxer briefs at the same time and tossed them to the floor of the truck. Suddenly he was alarmingly aware of the fact that he was naked in front of another person for the first time in his conscious life. It wouldn't have been so bad, except for the fact that Dave was still completely dressed. Kurt couldn't help but feel extremely overexposed.

Dave licked his lips and grinned hungrily down at Kurt. "Fucking _Christ_. You're _so _hot, baby."

Kurt felt his heart start to beat just a little faster than it already was. This was real; this was happening. Another boy _wanted _him. For the first time since leaving Blaine's graduation party, he smiled. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah," Dave practically purred. He leaned his head down and attached his mouth to one of Kurt's nipples. Kurt couldn't hold back a scream of pleasure as his boyfriend sucked the sensitive bud to hardness, then did the same on the other side.

"Mmmm, I'm gonna make you scream even louder and longer than you just did, trust me." As Dave spoke, suddenly it became clear to Kurt that he had no intention of taking off all his clothes. He unzipped his jeans and took himself out of his boxers before settling between Kurt's legs.

By this point, Kurt wasn't sure how to feel about anything anymore. He may not have known much about sex at all, but he was pretty sure you were supposed to stretch the other person out before just sticking it in. Dave apparently either didn't know that or he didn't care enough to make sure Kurt was feeling okay about all this. Kurt closed his eyes and bit his lip almost to the point of drawing blood as he felt his boyfriend begin to enter him.

The first thing he noticed – the _only _thing he noticed – was the pain. Kurt had thought this was supposed to be such an amazing experience, so why was he in so much pain? It seemed hard to believe that something that was supposedly so beautiful could hurt so much. He exhaled a shaky breath, not realizing that he'd been holding it in for quite some time.

He felt Dave begin to move. It seemed to Kurt that the pain would subside with each subsequent thrust, because he was getting used to it, but if anything it seemed to hurt even more. Kurt kept his eyes closed and tried to focus on his breathing. Anything but the pain.

For a moment, he tried utilizing his think-of-Blaine strategy that he usually put into play whenever he and Dave were kissing. It was simple enough for the first few seconds. Kurt kept the image in his mind of Blaine's face from earlier that evening, during their brief conversation at the part right before Kurt and Dave had left. He remembered the way Blaine had been looking at him, the way his warm hazel eyes had been glowing with such affection and genuine happiness at seeing Kurt. Kurt tried to keep that image in his mind and imagine that Blaine was making love to him instead of the undesirable reality.

But that didn't last very long, because the more Kurt thought about it, the more unrealistic it seemed. If he _did _have sex with Blaine, he figured (and Kurt knew full well that the chances of that happening were slim to none), Blaine wouldn't be going as rough as Dave currently was, especially not the very first time. Kurt pictured Blaine as being the type to be nothing but sweet and loving and gentle in bed, always making sure to check that his partner was doing okay. He wouldn't be doing it for his own pleasure, as Dave seemed to be doing in the present moment.

One particularly hard thrust jolted Kurt out of his little reverie and he screamed bloody murder. Dave seemed to like that, because he leaned down and licked Kurt's cheek before letting his lips hover above his boyfriend's.

"Do you know how hot you sound when you scream like that?" he murmured, not quite kissing Kurt just yet, then continued his painful rhythm of thrusting in and out of Kurt. "And you're so fucking tight, baby. I could do this all fucking day."

Kurt could have slapped him. How in the world could Dave have thought that he'd been screaming in pleasure? It didn't matter, because suddenly his boyfriend had started giving it to him harder and faster and causing him even more pain. Kurt felt warm tears spilling down his face and he wondered how long he'd been crying. As soon as he noticed, though, he decided he couldn't take it anymore.

"No! Stop it! This hurts!" he screamed without even thinking about what he was doing. "Please just _stop _it!"

Dave immediately stopped thrusting but didn't pull out just yet. "What?"

Kurt couldn't even believe he'd had the nerve to ask that. "Do I _need _to spell it out for you?" he growled through his tears. Dave stared at him blankly for a second, still not moving; Kurt continued with scathing sarcasm. "Apparently, I do. Get your dick out of my ass _right now_."

Dave gave him one of those wide-eyed looks that suggested he had no idea what he'd been doing wrong. He pulled out of Kurt, who instinctively let himself exhale a sigh of relief.

Kurt watched his boyfriend's eyes as Dave glanced down in between Kurt's legs. "You're bleeding all over the seat, baby."

Then, without saying another word or offering to help Kurt clean up or asking how he was feeling or even _apologizing_, for Christ's sakes, he moved off of Kurt's naked body and began pleasuring himself. Kurt stared at him in utter disbelief for a few seconds. Dave had apparently placed his own sexual pleasure over his boyfriend's sanity and well-being, and that pissed Kurt off to no end.

He craned his neck and looked down to see that he was in fact bleeding, but it wasn't nearly as bad as Dave had made it sound. Only a drop or two had gotten on the seat. He glared at his boyfriend, who was still stroking himself, feeling rage building up inside him.

"I hope I bleed all over your seat," he muttered angrily, not sure if Dave had heard him, but it didn't matter. He sat there for a few more seconds, wishing he had something – anything – with which to cover himself. He'd never felt more ashamed and humiliated and utterly disgusting in his life, and the fact that he was naked wasn't exactly helping.

He quickly glanced around for something he could use to cover himself. His clothes were lying on the ground, but he really didn't feel like going to the trouble of pulling all his layers back on. He checked behind the seat and found a ratty, dirty old stadium blanket that looked like it hadn't been washed in about a year. It would do. Kurt immediately grabbed the blanket and pulled it around himself while Dave finished getting himself off.

When Dave was finished, he reached up into the glove compartment and pulled out a napkin which he used to wipe off his messy hand. After tucking himself back into his pants, he finally looked at Kurt, who was trembling in his blanket.

"Baby?" he asked hesitantly, reaching out one hand to touch Kurt's soft cheek.

Kurt flinched away from Dave's touch almost instinctively. "Please take me home," he said weakly.

"But, Kurt-," Dave began, only to be cut off by Kurt's harsh grumble.

"Take me _home_, David."

Dave nodded. "Okay," he said softly.

He crawled up into the driver's seat and Kurt stayed right where he was. Even if he'd wanted to move, he wouldn't have been able to because he was in so much pain. He pulled the blanket closer around him and lay down across the entire backseat. Once Dave started to drive, Kurt found that the gentle hum of the engine was actually kind of soothing.

He stared up out the window at the nighttime sky. There were lots of stars out tonight, he noticed. Normally Kurt would have been fascinated by this, because there was something so beautiful and mysterious about the stars to him, but not tonight. Tonight, all he could think about was how much he hated himself.

Dave was going to leave him. There was no doubt in his mind about that. What kind of guy would want to stay with someone who couldn't even last through an entire fuck? And even though Dave would never know it, Kurt suddenly felt guilty about picturing Blaine through it all. Through _everything_. Every kiss, every touch, Kurt closed his eyes and imagined that it was Blaine, and he had to stop doing that. If by some miracle Dave didn't dump his ass, Kurt vowed that he would stop imagining he was with his best friend whenever the two of them did anything physical together.

The car ride seemed eternal. When Dave finally pulled into the Hudmel driveway, Kurt sat up slowly and began pulling his clothes back on in the most dignified manner possible. He didn't bother speaking until he was fully dressed.

"David?" he asked softly.

"Yeah?"

"Are you…do you want to break up with me?"

Dave laughed as if this were the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. "What? No way. You're way too hot to just dump like that." He reached into the backseat and grabbed the fabric at the front of Kurt's shirt so he could pull him in for a quick kiss, which Kurt broke almost immediately.

"Goodnight, David," he said quietly as he got out of the car, wincing with every move he made, and headed up to the house.

When he got inside, he found his father snoring on the couch in front of the baseball game on TV. Finn was probably still out grad-party-hopping. That left only one person for him to avoid, and that was Carole. As quietly as possible, Kurt made his way towards the stairs. All he wanted to do was take a shower and fall asleep.

But, like so many other things tonight, his plan for that fell short when Carole called out to him.

"Kurt, sweetie?" She stepped out of the kitchen just in time to see him heading up the stairs. "You're home early. I thought you'd stay out longer."

He shook his head. "I don't feel good." It wasn't even a total lie.

"Come out to the kitchen and sit down," she suggested gently. "I just finished making cookies."

Kurt sniffed the air and noticed for the first time that the whole house smelled of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies. He turned around and descended the two stairs he'd managed to climb.

He was feeling dizzy and lightheaded for some reason that he couldn't put his finger on, and Carole must have noticed because she took his arm and helped guide him out to the kitchen. Kurt sat at his usual place and immediately reached out to grab a cookie from the plate that was in the middle of the table. Carole poured a glass of milk and set it in front of him; Kurt thanked her and dunked his cookie in the milk before chomping off half of it in one bite.

"I feel like I'm six years old again," he admitted with a tiny smile as Carole sat down next to him. "It's nice, though."

Carole returned his smile. "I know it's late, but I was just in the mood to bake," she said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze before she continued.

"Is everything all right?" she asked with the type of concern that only a mother could harbor. "You seem upset about something."

Kurt took a sip of his milk and thought about how he could answer that. It's not like he was about to tell his stepmother what had really happened. _I lost my virginity in the backseat of my boyfriend's truck about half an hour ago. It hurt and it was awful. I didn't even last the whole time. The worst part is, he didn't even seem to care how much I was hurting_.

Instead, he managed to stick with the bare minimum of details and only related the events of the party to her. He shook his head. "It just…wasn't as fun as I was hoping it would be. I barely got to see Blaine, because I think David was trying to keep me away from him."

Carole nodded understandingly. "He's jealous."

"I know he is, but why should he be?" Kurt asked in response. "Blaine and I are just friends, and he knows that. Why can't two gay guys be friends without everyone assuming we're secretly fooling around on the side, or something stupid like that? David doesn't _get _it."

Having finished off his first cookie, Kurt reached for another one and shoved the entire thing in his mouth.

"And he won't get it, unless you keep making it clear to him that you have a right to be friends with whoever you want," Carole told him. "You shouldn't have to choose between your friends and your boyfriend. Nobody wants to make that decision. It's perfectly okay to spend time with both, but he just needs to come to terms with that."

Kurt resisted the urge to smile, because it sounded exactly like something his father would say. He couldn't, though, because now that he was venting he couldn't seem to stop.

"I made the super-last-minute decision of turning down the opportunity to go to college in New York, just so I could stay here and go to Ohio State with David," he said flatly, suddenly unable to meet Carole's eyes. "And in retrospect, that's probably the stupidest decision I ever could have made. We haven't even been dating that long. But I made that stupid decision for _him_. He doesn't even give me credit for _that_."

Carole looked concerned. "What did he say to you about it?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "'Are you sure it's not because _Blaine _is going there, too?'" he quoted in a near-perfect impersonation of his boyfriend's voice. "I told him no, absolutely not. Besides, David and I are rooming together so we'll see each other all the time. Blaine's going into the pre-law program, so he's going to be super busy and if David's lucky, I won't get to see him at all."

"You seem upset about that," Carole observed. "About the not-seeing-Blaine thing, I mean."

"Yeah, I am, but at least this time I'll have a valid reason why I won't be seeing him. He'll be busy a lot of the time," Kurt explained. "I can deal with that. I can't deal with my jealous boyfriend purposely keeping me away from him."

He picked up his glass and chugged back the rest of his milk, wiped his hand across his upper lip to get rid of the inevitable milk mustache, and sighed. "Oh, I guess it doesn't matter where I go to college, anyway. The more I think about it, the more I fall in love with the idea of being a music teacher. I don't need to go all the way up to New York just for that. OSU has a great education program."

Carole smiled at him. "Well, no matter what you eventually decide to do, always know that your father and I are here to support you no matter what." She stood up from the table and opened her arms. "Can I have a hug?"

As Kurt stood up and hugged her back, his mind started to wander a little bit. She had baked him cookies. She'd sat down with him and listened to him vent his romantic and platonic frustrations. She'd talked with him about college and his future. She'd done everything a _mom _was supposed to do.

And Kurt didn't have a problem with that at all, because he thought of Carole as a mother in many ways now. But he couldn't help thinking about his own mother. Although she'd passed away when Kurt was still a little boy, she'd always tried to teach him how to respect himself and not to let other people take advantage of him. All of a sudden he thought about what had just happened between himself and Dave in the backseat of the truck not too long ago and a harrowing thought entered his mind.

_What would Mom think_?

Kurt immediately bit his lip to hold back a sob when that thought came to mind. He didn't think it was possible for him to feel more ashamed of himself than he had when he'd been sitting there naked watching Dave finishing himself off, but this did it. He could practically _see _his mother rolling over in her grave.

He pulled back from Carole's hug and tried his best to smile.

"Thank you so much. For everything," he told her sincerely. "I'm gonna go upstairs, I kind of just want to lie down."

"You're welcome, sweetie," she told him with a motherly smile. "Go get some rest."

Getting upstairs was a slower process than usual due to the immense pain he was still in, but eventually Kurt made it to his room. He collapsed on his bed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, quickly thumbing in his passcode before staring at the menu screen.

Now that he was alone, he had more time to think. Specifically, more time to think about how much he still hated himself, especially since he'd had that thought about his mom. In everything he did, he tried to make her proud, and he couldn't help but feel that he'd failed miserably. He'd thrown himself away just for the sake of feeling wanted.

He had to talk to somebody. A very specific somebody. He might not have the courage to relate the graphic details of what had happened tonight, but he knew that hearing said specific somebody's voice would immediately make him feel better. Kurt pressed the Phone icon at the bottom of the screen and dialed the number he knew by heart.

xxx

It was late, and of course most of Blaine's relatives hadn't left his party yet. All of his friends had – there were tons of other parties to hit up tonight, of course – but since this was _his _party, Blaine felt obligated to stay.

He was sitting at the patio table with several of his cousins, playing euchre by porch light. His parents and some of his aunts and uncles were standing around talking and drinking. By this point, Blaine had already thrown back three Cokes and half of a Red Bull, but the caffeine just wasn't doing it because he was exhausted. He was having major difficulty keeping his eyes open.

Suddenly his phone vibrated, which woke him up a little bit. After extracting it from his pocket and glancing at the caller ID on the front screen, he immediately placed his hand of cards down on the table and stood up.

"Go ahead and keep playing without me," he told his cousins before pacing a considerable distance away from the patio so he could have some privacy. Once he was sure he was out of earshot of his relatives, he slid his thumb across the screen to answer the call.

"Hey, Kurt," he said with a smile that he hoped his best friend could hear through the phone.

To Blaine's delight, it sounded like Kurt was wearing the tiniest smile as he greeted Blaine. "Hi," he said, his tone almost shy. "Hey, um, I just wanted to say I'm sorry I didn't get to hang out with you much tonight. David was in a mood."

Blaine laughed. "Kurt, it's seriously okay. I'm glad we got to talk a little bit, however brief of a conversation it was." He paused for a second as he considered something Kurt had just said. "Wait, what do you mean he was 'in a mood'?"

He could just see Kurt rolling his eyes as he responded. "Oh, y'know, I'm not allowed to have other guy friends who are gay," he said cynically. "I kind of had to yell at him a little bit after we left, but it's okay."

Blaine couldn't help but be impressed by that. Kurt had yelled at his boyfriend because said boyfriend hadn't allowed him to talk to Blaine. _That _was how much it mattered to Kurt that they spend time with each other.

But then he realized he probably should be a little concerned. "Kurt, are you sure everything is okay with you two?"

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine," Kurt reassured him. "Just a little argument. David was just jealous."

"Are you sure?" Blaine asked warily. "You don't deserve to be treated like that, Kurt. He just needs to accept the fact that you and I are friends, plain and simple."

"I know, I know," Kurt sighed. "I'm still working on him. I have faith, though. I think I'll get through eventually."

"And you're absolutely positive that everything's okay?" Blaine had to ask again. "You sound upset. Is something bothering you?"

"Oh, no. Other than the stuff with David that I already told you about, no," Kurt said reassuringly. "I'm just exhausted. I got home a while ago, talked with Carole for a little bit, and now I'm just kind of lying on my bed, snuggling with my pillow." He giggled a little bit. "I don't think I can move."

Blaine had been picturing all of this in his mind while Kurt was speaking and he couldn't help but let a goofy smile take over his face as he thought about how cute Kurt probably looked right now. For a fraction of a nanosecond he considered inviting himself over so that Kurt could snuggle with _him_, but immediately decided against it, especially given the nature of their conversation thus far and Dave's feelings about Blaine.

"Then don't move," he told Kurt. "Just let yourself fall asleep."

"But I _have _to." Kurt was probably the only person on the planet who could sound so adorable even when he was whining. "I want to go take a shower, but my bed is so comfy."

He really shouldn't have said that, because Blaine's mind immediately took a trip into the gutter and stayed there for the next few seconds as he considered the implications of what Kurt had just said.

Kurt in the shower. Kurt _naked _in the shower. Kurt's hands sliding all over his wet, slippery, naked body as he washed himself.

Wow, okay, Blaine really didn't need to be having those thoughts right now because Kurt was his _friend _and he was around his _family _for crying out loud, and besides, Kurt had a _boyfriend _who got to keep that delicious body all to himself.

He pulled his mind out of the gutter to the best of his ability and finally managed to remember how to talk.

"Then go take a shower," he suggested, trying not to think about the fact that this was excellent spank material for when he was finally alone in his room later tonight. He'd gotten himself off to the thought of Kurt naked before, so there was no reason why he shouldn't do it again. Nobody had to know. "You'll feel a lot better and then you can go right to sleep."

"Mmmm, that sounds like a good idea, too," Kurt said, stifling a yawn. "It's just making myself get up that's the hard part."

Blaine forced himself to bite back a smile. He knew it was dumb and childish, but conversations like this made it so easy to think that Kurt was his boyfriend.

"You can do it. I believe in you," Blaine teased, probably just a little too flirtatiously but he didn't care. "Get up and take a nice, warm shower, then go to sleep."

"Fine." Blaine could hear the muffled sound of Kurt's mattress settling as he stood up from his bed. "I'm gonna listen to you and take a shower."

"All right. I should probably get back to my party, because some of my relatives are _still _here," Blaine said, rolling his eyes. "Hey, but Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks so much for coming today," Blaine said softly. "It really means a lot that you could make it."

There was the most precious smile in Kurt's voice as he responded. "I told you I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I'm glad," Blaine told him sincerely, then realized he should probably let him go. "Goodnight, Kurt."

"Goodnight, Blaine," Kurt said sweetly.

Blaine stayed on the line until he heard Kurt hang up, then snapped back into reality. The just-a-little-flirtatious conversation was over and now he had to get back into the Real World, in which Kurt wasn't his boyfriend and the two of them were nothing more than the best of friends.

xxx

_College, sophomore year _

Kurt was just heading back into the kitchen of the small but cozy apartment he shared with Dave when the knock came.

"Can you get that?" he called out to his boyfriend as he picked up two trays – one of cheese and crackers, the other of fresh fruit, one in each hand. "My hands are full."

"Got it," Dave called back. Kurt's heart started beating faster as he headed out into the living area and set the trays down on the coffee table. He and Dave had some pretty big news to break, so they were inviting all their closest family and friends over this afternoon. Kurt had absolutely no idea how they were going to take this. On one hand, he figured they'd all be thrilled for the two of them. But then he considered the alternative – what if they thought he and Dave were rushing into this too fast?

Well, it didn't matter what they thought, because he'd spent many a long night with Dave discussing this before they finally decided that they were going to go ahead with this decision. He only hoped his family and friends could respect that, even if they didn't personally agree.

Dave opened the door and Kurt heard him greeting their guests with boisterous cheerfulness. "Hey, come on in! I'm so glad you guys could make it!"

Kurt saw the three of them appear one by one. First was Brittany, who stepped into the apartment with a giddy smile after Dave greeted her with a hug. Next was Finn, and finally Kurt heard his boyfriend give one more unenthusiastic greeting to the last person in the group.

"Oh. Hey, Blaine. Didn't see you back there, Hudson's pretty tall." Dave took half a step aside so that Blaine had to practically squeeze past him through the doorway. He didn't shake Blaine's hand, unlike he did with Finn.

Kurt, always priding himself on being a perfect gentleman, greeted all three of the guests with equal enthusiasm. "Hi, guys! I'm so excited to see you all!" He gave each of them a hug – first Brittany, then his brother, then finally Blaine.

"Nice to see you guys, too," Blaine told him and Dave. "It sucks that we can't hang out as much anymore even though we go to the same school and we both live right here on campus. I feel like I've barely seen you guys since the beginning of freshman year."

"Yeah, well, law school will do that to you," Finn joked. He plopped himself down on the couch and immediately reached toward the trays of food Kurt had just placed on the coffee table.

"He's not actually _in _law school yet," Dave pointed out, perhaps a little too harshly. Finn looked taken aback.

Blaine smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, he's got a point. I'm not," he said. "I gotta get a regular four-year degree like everyone else, then three years of law school, then pass the bar."

"_Oh_, okay," Dave commented sarcastically. "Do all future lawyers provide people with excessive details that nobody cares about, or is it just you?"

Kurt immediately jumped in and saved the conversation from turning into a full-out argument. "Hey, while we're waiting on everyone else, does anybody want anything to drink?" he asked as cheerfully as possible.

"I'll have a Coke, please," Finn said.

"Make that two," Dave told him.

"Could I please have some iced tea?" Brittany asked.

"Yes, you may," Kurt told her. "Blaine? Anything?"

The other man shook his head. "No, thank you."

Finn made an effort to start a new conversation among the three men in the living room as Kurt headed out to the kitchen, gently grabbing Brittany's arm and pulling her along with him.

"Are you feeling all right?" he asked once they were out of earshot of the rest of the group.

She nodded. "I feel great. The morning sickness is pretty much gone, the doctors have been telling me that everything is going smoothly…and Santana is taking next week off to come home and stay with me, so that definitely helps."

Kurt didn't miss the way her face lit up when she talked about her girlfriend. Santana and Brittany had been doing a wonderful job of making their long-distance relationship work, even while the former was off studying fashion design in New York and the latter had remained back in Ohio, taking courses at Columbus State Community College so she could transfer to a four-year school the following year. He admired them for having formed such a deep connection to each other that they could pull such a difficult relationship off.

"That's so sweet," he told her sincerely as he poured the drinks. "And you told her already, yeah?"

Brittany nodded. "Yep. You and Dave are okay with her knowing before everyone else, right?"

"Oh, absolutely! I think she deserves to know, so that's totally fine," he reassured her. "I was just wondering because she texted me right before you guys got here…she's got class, so she can't Skype in like we originally planned, but she said to tell everyone hi and that she's so excited for us."

"Yay," Brittany said with an excited smile, clapping a little bit. "I'm _so _happy, Kurt."

He set the pitcher of iced tea down on the counter and turned to face her, returning her smile. "Me too, Britt," he said as he pulled her into a hug. "Me too."

The two of them headed back out to the living room and passed out the drinks to the rest of the group. Kurt noticed that Dave's father had arrived while they'd been out in the kitchen, so he greeted him and offered him something to drink, which the elder Karofsky politely refused. The only people left to come were Burt and Carole – actually, there was still someone else they'd invited, but she hadn't responded to their invitation and Kurt highly doubted she'd show up.

Still, he thought it would be polite to ask. "Have you heard from your mom? Is she coming?" he asked Dave quietly as he sat down next to him on the sofa, making sure his voice was soft enough that nobody else in the room would hear.

Dave simply shook his head and looked at the floor. "No."

Dave's parents had divorced when he was in middle school, and they'd shared custody of him up until his senior year of high school, when he came out as gay. His father had been shocked at first but ultimately responded with acceptance. It was a much better response than Dave had gotten from his mother, who reacted to the news by making an unsuccessful attempt to get professional help for her son, in the hopes that he would be cured of his "disease." From that point on, Dave had lived with his dad until he moved away to college.

Kurt knew that his boyfriend had sent a few emails to his mother over the past two weeks or so, letting her know that he and Kurt had some wonderful news and inviting her to their apartment so they could share it with her. When she didn't respond to any of his messages, he'd tried calling her, only to get no response. Eventually Dave had resigned to accept the fact that his mother was going to ignore any effort he made to reach out to her.

He didn't have much time to feel sorry for his boyfriend, though, because as he was considering all this, a knock came to the door. His parents had arrived. It was time to break the news.

Once Burt and Carole had greeted everyone and gotten settled, Kurt returned to his seat beside Dave and bit his lip to contain his excited smile. Now that the moment had finally arrived, he didn't know how much longer he could keep this hidden.

"Kid, you look like you're about to burst with excitement," Burt pointed out. "Just spit it out."

"I am!" Kurt told his father, immediately smiling as soon as he opened his mouth. "And are you sure? Just get it out there right now?"

"Yeah, dude, just say it," Finn told him. "Seriously, I've been trying to figure it out all day."

Kurt glanced around the room at all their faced. His brother. His parents. Brittany. Mr. Karofsky. Blaine.

He turned to Dave with a smile. "You want to tell them?"

Dave took one of Kurt's hands in both of his and turned to acknowledge the whole group.

"Brittany is three months pregnant," he announced.

Every single eye in the room immediately fixated on the blonde, who smiled despite the flush in her cheeks and nodded.

"David and I have chosen her to be our surrogate," Kurt announced happily. "We're having a baby."

At that moment, the room erupted into a spirit of blissful chaos as everyone leapt up and began showering the two of them with hugs and congratulations and squeals of joy (well, that last part was mostly Carole, but it didn't matter). The second the words had left his mouth, Kurt felt his heart beating with a thrill unlike anything he'd experienced in his life. He was going to be a father, and he had the people he loved more than anything in the world here to share this unbelievably joyful moment with him.

Everything was happening in such a blur and Kurt loved it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Carole pulling Burt and Mr. Karofsky into an excited group hug while exclaiming something about being grandparents. But his attention was suddenly diverted and time seemed to stop when he suddenly felt himself being pulled into a hug by warm, strong arms. Arms that did not belong to his boyfriend, thank you very much.

"Oh!" He squealed a little bit with surprise before giggling and hugging Blaine back. He knew it was wrong, because everyone was here today to celebrate the amazing news that Kurt and _Dave _had to share, but he couldn't help noticing how safe he felt in Blaine's arms. It was different than when Dave hugged him, probably because in this case Kurt was the taller one, but definitely not in a bad way. Sharing this embrace with Blaine felt so natural, like the two of them had been made to fit perfectly in each other's arms.

Blaine pulled away from the hug so he could look Kurt in the eyes. "This is _amazing_," he said softly, but Kurt could tell he meant every single word. "You're going to be an incredible father, Kurt."

Kurt could only respond to that by pulling Blaine into another emotional hug. It brought such incredible joy to his heart to see his best friend so genuinely happy for him. But this hug didn't last as long because suddenly he felt Dave's hand on his shoulder from behind, a subtle sign that it was time to break away now.

He let Blaine go and the two shared a lingering smile before Kurt turned to take Dave's hand and they returned to where they'd been sitting previously. Just as he'd expected, the rest of the group began enthusiastically bombarding them with questions. Finn asked who the father was (and to be honest, Kurt told him, they weren't sure; they'd done essentially the same thing Rachel Berry's dads had done and both had donated). Burt made sure to tell them how thrilled he was but, concerned father that he was, reminded them both how extremely young they were and asked if they were ready to handle the responsibility. Kurt reassured him that this had been a decision made after much discussion and that they felt ready. The baby was due at the end of August, right when junior year would be starting, so he and Dave planned to work their class schedules in such a way that one of them would always be at the apartment with the baby, neither of them having classes at the same time. This seemed to make Burt happy, so Kurt was relieved when his father didn't ask them any more questions of that sort.

As Dave answered something Finn had asked, Kurt couldn't help but sneak a glance at Blaine. He couldn't deny that there had been something more to that hug they'd shared a few minutes earlier. For a fleeting second, he wondered if Blaine had felt it, too.

Blaine turned his attention away from whatever Dave was saying and looked right at Kurt, who immediately blushed and glanced down when he realized he'd been caught staring. Maybe he'd been right about their hug. Maybe Blaine had felt what Kurt had felt after all.

xxx

_College, junior year_

The next six months seemed to drag for Kurt, who wanted nothing but to meet his new son or daughter and hold him or her in his arms. He and Dave went with Brittany to a few of her doctor's visits and saw the ultrasound images of their baby on the sonogram, but they had chosen not to find out the sex of the baby until he or she was born. For some reason, they both thought it seemed more special that way.

Brittany did amazingly throughout the entire pregnancy. There were no signs of complications or any other causes of concern, which gave Kurt so much hope. Maybe this was a sign that he and Dave had made the right choice, despite the fact that both of them were just twenty years old. Kurt knew they would never have done this if they didn't think they could handle the responsibility, but the fact that everything seemed to be going smoothly for Brittany just gave him that much more hope.

Even though the months seemed to pass with unbearable slowness, the wait was completely worth it on August 25, 2014, when Kurt became a father.

He'd been standing up by the head of the bed, where Brittany was holding his hands in a shaky vice grip that was probably cutting off his circulation. Dave's arms were around his waist, holding him close. The second he saw the baby emerging and heard the midwife's cheerful scream of "It's a girl!" over the screeching cries only a newborn can emit, Kurt completely lost it and broke down in tears.

"Oh my god, Kurt," Dave whispered, holding him closer as the midwife lifted the screaming infant up and into Brittany's arms. "We have a daughter."

Kurt nodded, unable to take his eyes off the little girl. Despite the tears that were streaming down his face, he couldn't stop smiling. "Elizabeth Anne Hummel-Karofsky. You still okay with calling her Ellie for short?"

It had actually been Dave's idea to name the baby, if it was a girl, after Kurt's late mother. Kurt had eagerly agreed, but had suggested they think of another nickname for her. Everyone had known his mother as Liz Hummel, and Kurt thought that their daughter should have a different nickname that set her apart and let her have her own identity. After he and Dave had thrown out all possible variations of Liz and Lizzie, they'd talked about it some more and eventually eliminated Betsy (too old-fashioned sounding for their tastes) and Beth (eerily reminiscent of Quinn's pregnancy sophomore year and the drama that had accompanied it). In the end, they'd decided on Ellie. Short, sweet, and it went well with their last names.

"Yeah. I like that," Dave agreed. "Ellie Hummel-Karofsky."

The nurses gently wiped the squirming baby off and eventually clipped the umbilical cord. When she was clean enough to be wrapped in a little pink blanket, one of the nurses bundled her up and walked over to Kurt and Dave with a huge smile on her face.

"Which one of you would like to hold your daughter first?" she asked.

"Kurt," Dave said almost immediately. Kurt glanced up at him just to make sure; Dave gave him a sweet smile and nodded. "Go ahead."

The nurse placed the squirming little bundle in Kurt's arms with an even bigger smile lighting up her face. "Congratulations."

Kurt had finally managed to control his tears, but they sprang to life once again in his eyes when his daughter was placed into his arms for the first time. His heart was immediately filled with a whole new kind of love as he looked at Ellie's tiny little face. She'd managed to stop screaming and was looking up into his eyes with a wide newborn gaze of her own, trying to figure out the world. She had a full head of incredibly soft, jet black hair. Kurt had never seen anyone or anything quite so beautiful in his twenty years.

"I love you," he whispered to Ellie. He knew full well that she couldn't understand, but he liked knowing they were the first words he would ever say to her. "I love you so much, Elizabeth. I want you to always remember that, okay?"

Very gently, he lifted her up just slightly and placed the softest of kisses to her tender forehead. "So perfect," he whispered, not sure if he was talking to Dave or Ellie or himself.

"Wait. Hold still, stay like that," Dave told him, fishing his phone out of his pocket. "I want to get a picture of this. Your first father-daughter picture with her."

He held his phone up to snap the picture and Kurt turned towards it, angling Ellie up just slightly so that her face would be visible in the picture. He tried to look at the camera – he really did, but after a few seconds he gave up and looked back down at his daughter in his arms, unable to stop staring at her. Dave captured the picture as Kurt smiled down at Ellie, his face absolutely glowing. When the image had been saved to his phone, he held it up so Kurt could see.

"Oh my god, please send that to me," he begged his boyfriend. "I love it."

Dave thumbed across the keypad a few times before shoving his phone back into his pocket with a satisfied smile. "Done. It's sending."

Kurt returned his smile and held their daughter out to him. "Would you like to hold her?"

Dave didn't even bother answering. He let Kurt transfer Ellie into his arms and immediately cradled her close to his heart.

"I love you," he said softly, both to her and to Kurt. Carefully holding Ellie against him with one arm, he gently tilted Kurt's chin up with his free hand and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

Kurt broke away after a few seconds. By this point he didn't think he'd be able to stop smiling even if he'd tried. He also thought he should probably check to see how Brittany was doing, because she _had _just delivered their child and was still recovering. He turned around and stepped towards the bed.

It looked like she was asleep, but Kurt couldn't tell for sure. "Hey, Britt?" he asked softly, taking her hand.

Her eyes fluttered open and her voice was small when she spoke. "Yeah, Kurtie?"

She'd never called him that before, but Kurt figured she was just experiencing some side effects from the drugs the doctors had given her to ease the pain of the birthing process. There were a few locks of blonde hair clinging to her sweaty forehead; Kurt gently brushed them aside. "Thank you so much for doing this for us," he told her sincerely. "David and I appreciate it more than we can tell you. You helped give us the most amazing gift we ever could have asked for."

Brittany gave him a drowsy smile. "Was I a good surrogate mommy, Kurtie?"

"You were a _wonderful _surrogate mommy." He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Get some sleep, okay? I can't even imagine how tired you must be."

"Tired," she repeated, letting her eyes fall closed. "Good night, Kurtie."

In reality, it was around six in the morning, but she had no way of knowing that so Kurt decided to play along. "Night, Britt. Sweet dreams."

He turned back to Dave, who was smiling at Ellie and whispering sweet little nothings to her, and suddenly it hit him. This was his own little family.

xxx

It was seven a.m. and Blaine had yet to go to sleep. Classes had only started a week and a half ago and he already had a ten page paper due and the first big exam of junior year to study for. He knew he should probably be exhausted, but he really wasn't. The mess of empty cans – Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar, Starbucks DoubleShot – that littered the area around his desk spoke for itself.

He turned back to the thick legal textbook on his desk and tried to focus. The last thing he wanted to do was spend five minutes rereading the same paragraph without taking in what it said, which had already happened quite a few times thus far. He figured he would force himself to stay awake just a few more hours until his Constitutional Law class at ten this morning. That was an hour and a half long, so once that was over he had a couple hours to sleep until his next class, Argumentation Theory at three in the afternoon. After that, it was Law and Ethics at five, then he would stop and get something quick to eat, then come back and sleep the rest of the night. Blaine was immediately thankful that today was a Monday, his most lenient day of the week schedule-wise. He wouldn't have been able to get away with this any other day.

His phone vibrated on the desk and immediately jolted him out of his reverie. Blaine immediately snapped to attention and grabbed the phone to look at the text message he'd just gotten.

It was from Kurt. That should have been Blaine's first clue that he should probably mentally prepare himself for what he was about to see, but he didn't take that into account. He noticed that it had also been sent to Finn, Santana, and a few of Kurt's other friends. There was only one thing this could possibly be.

When Blaine opened the message, his heart absolutely melted when a picture of Kurt holding a little pink bundle of perfection. Kurt's face was lit up by the most beautiful smile Blaine had ever seen him wear; his eyes were fixed on his daughter in his arms. The little girl herself was absolutely gorgeous. She had a full head of hair and wide, curious eyes that, for some reason, reminded Blaine of Kurt's own.

Underneath the picture, Kurt had typed an enthusiastic message.

_I'm a daddy! :)  
>Introducing our little princess: Elizabeth Anne Hummel-Karofsky<br>Born August 25, 2014 at 5:43 a.m., 7 lbs 11 oz.  
>(Santana: Brittany did amazing during the labordelivery process. She's feeling fine but was exhausted after all was said and done so she's getting some much-needed sleep. I'll have her call you as soon as she wakes up.)_

Blaine immediately dialed Kurt's cell number. There was no way he could send Blaine something so incredible like that and _not _expect a congratulatory phone call. His hand was shaking with excitement as he held the phone to his ear and listened to it ring on the other end, so he put it on speaker and set it on his desk.

Kurt answered after the second ring. "Hello?"

"Kurt, oh my god, she is _perfect_," Blaine gushed before Kurt had even finished saying the two-syllable word. "I…don't even have words right now. I am _so _happy for you both. I mean that."

"Thank you so much," Kurt told him sincerely. Blaine could hear his elated smile in his voice. "I don't have words, either. I don't know what to make of this, but it's _so _amazing. I…I never thought I could ever love a human being as much as I love Ellie. I can't even explain how happy I feel right now."

"Ellie," Blaine repeated. "That's cute, I love it. And I'm guessing her full name is after your mom, correct?"

"That's correct!" Kurt told him happily. "My dad's ecstatic about it, of course. He and Carole just got here about half an hour ago and David's dad is on his way. My dad told me he thinks Ellie is mine."

"Really?" No wonder that look in her eyes had reminded Blaine so much of Kurt. "He can tell already?"

"Apparently she looks exactly like I did when I was born, with all the hair and everything," Kurt told him. "David and I are going to have a paternity test done when she's a few months old to see whose she is, but for now I'm just going to enjoy being a new daddy."

"Good idea. And no matter who ends up being her father, she's beautiful." Blaine hoped Kurt could hear the sincerity in his voice. He thought back to the picture Kurt had sent him and recalled the gorgeous smile that had been lighting up his face. Something told him he should acknowledge this. "And you look beyond happy. You wear fatherhood well."

"Do I really?" Kurt giggled. "I drove Brittany to the hospital at midnight. She was in labor for a little less than six hours. I'm running on absolutely zero sleep right now, but this is the best kind of exhaustion."

"Yeah, well, join the club. I've been up studying all night. I haven't been to bed yet, either," Blaine told him. "No, but seriously. You look amazing, Kurt. It's like...just from looking at that one picture, I can see how much you love her."

"More than I've ever loved anyone." Kurt's voice was barely above a whisper.

Blaine couldn't help but smile. Hearing Kurt so happy made _him _happy. "Well, I'll let you go spend time with your daughter. Please tell Dave I said congratulations. I…I know he doesn't like me, but please tell him anyway."

"Will do," Kurt told him. "Bye, Blaine."

For whatever reason, Blaine had to bite back the urge to say _I love you, Kurt_. He had no idea why – saying it would be completely inappropriate and out of line, but his heart was telling him it was the truth. He loved Kurt. Thinking those words was so natural and easy to believe, but it broke his heart to think he would never get to say them out loud.

"Bye, Kurt," he told his best friend, and hung up the phone trying not to think about the implications of what this meant.

Kurt had a family now. Kurt had a family with somebody else. Blaine couldn't help but wonder about what would have happened if he'd confessed his true feelings to Kurt back in high school. Maybe Kurt would have started a family with _him_, instead of with the man who had made his life a living hell.

But there was no time for regrets. Kurt had already slipped through his fingers and gotten away.

xxx

_July 2018_

Kurt had never really understood the whole "they-grow-up-so-fast" card that parents always seemed to play, until he became a parent himself. He'd gone from watching Ellie take her first breath, to faithfully rocking her back to sleep when she woke up screaming at three in the morning, to teaching her how to walk and talk. The years flew by as if he'd blinked. Before he knew it, she was almost four years old and he and Dave were dropping her off at preschool for the first time.

Well, it wasn't really "preschool," seeing as it was still July, but the school they'd chosen for her was having a little summer daycare program. Kurt and Dave figured it would be fun for her to go and meet some of the kids that would be in her class. Plus, Dave had to work that afternoon and Kurt had somewhere to be as well. They figured this was as good a time as any to get their daughter ready for the real thing.

She was clinging to him, her tiny arms wrapped around his waist as Kurt attempted to make his way towards the door of the pint-sized classroom. "Daddy, Papa, I don't want you to go."

Kurt gently pried himself free and gave her a reassuring smile. "Sweetie, we have to go. We can't stay any longer." He lowered himself to one knee so he was at her level and looked straight into her eyes, which were carbon-copies of Kurt's own. The paternity test they'd had when she was three months old had proven that she was, in fact, Kurt's biological daughter.

"I'll come pick you up in a couple hours, okay?" he told her gently. "It's gonna be lots of fun. They have all different kinds of toys for you to play with…and maybe when Papa gets home from work tonight, we'll all go out to dinner to celebrate your big day. Sound fun?"

Ellie didn't get to answer, because suddenly another little girl ran up to her with an energetic smile. "Hi! Are you coming to preschool here, too?" she asked, bouncing up and down a little bit.

Ellie nodded shyly.

"Want to come play dolls with me?" the other girl suggested happily.

Ellie looked up at Kurt and Dave, both of whom gave her encouraging smiles. "Go ahead, honey," Dave told her.

Kurt kept smiling as he watched his daughter run off with the other little girl toward the large pink dollhouse in the corner of the room. He turned to Dave with a satisfied grin. "I knew she'd cave. There's too many toys here for her _not _to have fun."

"It could be worse," Dave mumbled as the two of them made their way towards the door. Kurt followed his eyes to an exhausted-looking mother who was struggling to break free from a red-faced, sobbing little boy who was screaming for her not to go.

"Oh, I am _so _glad that's not us," he whispered to Dave, before shooting the mother in question a wry, apologetic smile. She responded with a disapproving glare that was no doubt directed to the two of them.

"Okay, then," he mumbled. "Let's just hope the kids here are somewhat more tolerant than their parents."

"I think Ellie will be fine," Dave reassured him. "We talked with her last night. She knows that if any of the kids are mean to her about having two daddies, she's supposed to go tell Mrs. Gilbert right away."

Kurt nodded. "Good point. I'm just happy we got an open-minded teacher."

They made their way down the hallway and out into the parking lot towards their respective cars (they'd driven separately since Dave had to go to work). Kurt gave him a kiss goodbye and they made plans to meet up for dinner later that night after Dave left work. They got in their cars and Kurt waited until Dave drove away, pretending to stall by fiddling with the radio and the air conditioner dial. Once Dave's car was out of the parking lot, Kurt backed out of his own parking space and drove off towards the little neighborhood coffee shop where he was meeting Blaine.

Kurt didn't think there was anything wrong with what he was doing. He'd made it clear to Dave on multiple occasions that he had the right to be friends with whoever he wanted. Since he'd managed to stay friends with Blaine all through high school, he saw no reason why the handsome Dalton alumnus should be an exception to this. Besides, tomorrow was going to be a pretty big day for both of them. Kurt was going to a training class to get ready for the job teaching music he'd be starting next month at a local school called Lincoln Elementary. Blaine, who had graduated from law school two months earlier, would be taking the bar exam. Even though they hadn't had as much time to hang out in person lately, they'd been staying in touch and had decided that this was a great opportunity to meet up and talk face to face and just _be _with each other.

Okay, so Kurt had made that last part up. Blaine hadn't specifically told Kurt that he just wanted to "_be _with him for a little bit." But Kurt had to admit, he was excited. He loved the way he felt whenever he was with Blaine. He loved how hanging out with Blaine just made him _happy_. And the fact that this little reunion (Kurt would not let himself call it a "date") had been Blaine's idea made him even happier, because it meant Blaine wanted to see him just as much.

His heart started beating just a little bit faster when he pulled into the parking lot of the coffee shop and noticed that Blaine's car was already there, as close to the small building as possible without being in a handicap spot. Kurt maneuvered into the spot right next to Blaine's Civic, shifted into park, and pulled the keys out of the ignition but didn't get out of the car yet. He had to stop and collect his thoughts for a bit, first.

This was not a date. He was just here to get coffee and make casual conversation with his best friend, who had no romantic interest in Kurt whatsoever and in whom Kurt really shouldn't have been taking a romantic interest, either. That was all. Kurt took a deep breath and tried to force himself to think platonic thoughts as he got out of the car.

xxx

Blaine had just sat down at an out-of-the-way table with the two drinks he'd just ordered when the door opened and Kurt stepped into the coffee shop.

"Kurt!" he called out the second he saw his friend, waving him over to the table. "I already ordered for you."

He loved the way Kurt's face brightened into a smile as he made his way over to the table where Blaine was sitting. "You remember my coffee order," he commented, taking a seat and accepting the paper coffee cup Blaine slid across the table toward him.

Blaine shrugged, blushing a little bit. "Not that hard to remember."

Kurt dug his wallet out of his pocket and opened it. "How much do I owe you?" he asked Blaine.

"Put that away," Blaine told him. "My treat. I haven't seen you in forever, or at least that's what it seems like. I can afford to spoil you."

The second the words were out of his mouth, Blaine tensed up as he realized how flirtatious that could possibly sound. Oh god. He tried to scramble and think of something he could say that would reassure Kurt that Blaine wasn't trying to come onto him. Nothing like that. He-

"Oh. Well, that's very sweet of you. Thank you," Kurt said with a polite smile, tucking his wallet back into his pocket. "So how have you been? Are you nervous for tomorrow?"

"Yes," Blaine admitted. He would never tell anyone else. "This is it, y'know? I've known I wanted to be a lawyer since middle school. Tomorrow is when I find out if I'm good enough to actually _get _there."

"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. You're the smartest person I know," Kurt reassured him with a smile. "Besides, look at how many attorneys we have here in America. _Tons_. That means tons of people have passed the bar, so how tough can it be?"

"Half the people who take the test fail the first time," Blaine said flatly, suddenly very interested in the recycling information typed in fine print along the bottom of his paper cup.

"Half," Kurt repeated quietly, then suddenly his voice was encouraging again. "Half! That means half of the people pass!"

"Hillary Clinton, JFK's son, Michelle Obama and the former dean of Stanford's law school all failed it," Blaine pointed out dryly. He knew Kurt was trying to reassure him, but over the last few days his trepidation was at an all-time high.

What Kurt did next completely shocked him in the most pleasant way. He reached across the table and took Blaine's hand, holding it firmly while he looked into his eyes.

"Blaine, look at me," he instructed gently. Blaine obeyed, because there was no possible way he couldn't. "You are not Hillary Clinton, or JFK Jr., or Michelle Obama, or the former dean of Stanford's law school. You're Blaine Anderson. Just because those people failed doesn't mean you will. You just gotta look at the glass as being half full instead of half empty." He gave Blaine's hand a reassuring squeeze and kept holding it. "You're _amazing_, Blaine. I'm not going to let you think otherwise."

Blaine let a relieved smile spread across his face and, as he had the unfortunate habit of doing in situations like this, put his foot in his mouth.

"God, Kurt, I could kiss you. That's exactly what I needed to hear."

For the second time in less than five minutes, Blaine wished he could shove the words he'd just said back into his mouth. He wondered if it would be too unsophisticated of him to crawl under the table and remain there for the rest of his life.

Kurt pulled his hand away, looking extremely taken aback, and Blaine made a desperate attempt to recover. "I…I didn't mean…"

But Kurt just giggled and gave him the sweetest smile. "Blaine, I would be more than happy to let you kiss me if it would make you feel better, but somehow I don't think my boyfriend would be too happy with me if I did that. We don't need any more unnecessary drama coming from him."

_Actually, it would make me feel better,_ Blaine wanted to say. _He doesn't have to know. Please let me have one kiss. Just one. You have no idea how much I want to_.

But he knew Kurt, and he knew Kurt's sense of humor. There was no doubt in his mind that his best friend was joking. He resigned himself to accept the fact that he would never get to taste those perfect, pink lips – and oh, god, they were probably unbelievably soft and supple, too. But they were all for Dave, that lucky sonofabitch.

_Just one kiss_…

"Blaine," those lips said.

Oh, well, that was embarrassing. Blaine had been spacing out, staring at Kurt's lips for God only knows how long. He still hadn't responded to what Kurt had said before.

He blinked back into reality and shook his head. "Sorry," he told Kurt. "I was spacing out. Been doing that a lot lately. Can't focus on anything. I think it's nerves. I'm nervous for tomorrow."

Kurt nodded and, to Blaine's immense relief, said nothing more about the whole kissing thing. "I can sympathize." He took a long sip from his coffee.

Blaine gave him an appreciative smile. "Okay, enough about me," he said, feeling his face return to a normal temperature as the blush faded from his cheeks. "How have _you _been?"

xxx

_November 2018_

The first few months of Kurt's brand new career as a music teacher went well, better than he had expected. He'd been nervous the first few days but soon he'd gained some much-needed confidence and the students of Lincoln Elementary School had fallen in love with their music teacher, Mr. Hummel.

If Kurt had to choose his favorite thing about being a teacher, it would be the fact that he got to teach and share his passion with the kids and instill in them a love for music at such a young age. Sometimes in class, when the kids were singing and Kurt was playing the piano to accompany them, he would look at the smiling faces of his students over the sheet music as he continued playing. It gave him so much joy to see that his students truly enjoyed coming to his class every day. He knew his students loved him but at the same time it was hard for him to believe. It seemed impossible that he had the ability to bring them so much happiness and pure love for music.

He struck the final note of the song on the piano and smiled at his students. "That was great, you guys," he told them, and noticed for the first time that his classroom door had been opened. The students' second grade teacher was waiting for Kurt's class to be over so she could take them back to their classroom. He hadn't even realized that the period was close to ending. "Oh! Looks like it's time for you guys to go, I lost track of time."

There was a resounding chorus of "Aww, no!" and "I don't want to go!" from various students and Kurt tried not to smile. He had to admit that this made him happy. The fact that the kids never wanted to leave his class meant that he must have been doing something right.

"I know. If I were you guys, I would want to stay down here and sing all day, too," he told them. "We'll sing some more tomorrow and maybe even play a game, I promise."

A few of the kids called out, "Bye, Mr. Hummel!" as they sorted themselves into a single-file line and followed their teacher back to their regular classroom. Kurt crossed the room back over to his desk and took his keys out of the drawer where he usually kept them. The second graders had been his last class of the morning and now he was off to lunch.

He'd just pulled the classroom door shut behind him and was turning to lock it when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Upon extracting it and glancing at the caller ID on the front screen, his heart started beating a little faster when he read Blaine's name.

Kurt immediately turned back around and went into his classroom, making sure to shut and lock the door behind him before he slid his thumb across the screen to answer the call. He really had no idea why he felt the need to be secluded when he talked to his best friend, but for some reason it made him feel more secure. Like nobody could eavesdrop, even when nobody was around to do so anyway.

He pressed the phone to his ear. "Hel—"

"Hi, you're speaking to Blaine Anderson, Esquire, juris doctor, attorney-at-law!" was Blaine's excited response. "I'm a lawyer, Kurt! I'll probably never use all those titles at the same time again, but I'm a lawyer!"

"Wait, _what_?" Kurt was smiling; he'd basically already figured out what Blaine meant. "So it's official now?"

"Yes! I got my bar results and I passed!" For some reason, Kurt's mind conjured up images of his best friend running around his tiny apartment with uncontrollable glee, jumping up on furniture and waving his results sheet proudly. "I can't believe it! I'm a _lawyer_. Me. Blaine Anderson. A lawyer. A member of the American Bar Association. An _attorney_. I literally screamed when I saw the results, Kurt. I'm not kidding. I _screamed_."

Suddenly there was a shift in his tone and he sounded concerned. "Wait, you don't have a class right now or anything, do you? I would feel bad if I called you freaking out like this while you're in the middle of trying to teach."

Kurt giggled, finally able to get a word in. "No, I don't. You just missed my last class of the morning by about two minutes," he said. "But seriously, Blaine? This is amazing, but I can't say I'm surprised. I knew you'd ace it."

"I know you knew I would," Blaine said, laughing a little bit, "which is why you're the first person I called."

Color Kurt intrigued. "Really? _Me_?"

"You bet," Blaine told him. "I literally just saw the results five minutes ago, but I had to keep double checking for a few minutes to make sure I wasn't misreading it or something. Y'know, making sure there wasn't some other Blaine Anderson who took the test the same day and they didn't get my scores mixed up with his."

"And your first thought after double-checking what I knew all along was 'I'm going to call Kurt and scream the news'?" Kurt teased.

"Maybe," Blaine admitted with a nervous smile in his voice.

Kurt was having too much fun with this. "Are you blushing?" he asked, maybe just a little too flirtatiously but he didn't care.

"Maybe," Blaine said again.

Kurt feigned a gasp. "You mean I made the handsome, dapper attorney Blaine Anderson blush?"

"I don't know about 'handsome' and 'dapper,' but yes," Blaine said, giggling a little bit. "I'm definitely blushing. And happy. Really, really happy."

"Good," Kurt told him sincerely. "And I'm happy _for _you. I know you're going to have an amazing career and do things nobody else has done before."

"Let's cross that bridge when and if we ever come to it," Blaine suggested humbly.

"Seriously, Blaine! Give yourself more credit," Kurt told him. "Okay, repeat after me. 'I, Blaine Anderson, am going to be one of the greatest attorneys the United States has ever seen.'"

"Kurt, really, that's a lot to live up to—"

"Just say it," Kurt insisted.

Blaine sighed. "Okay, okay. 'I, Blaine Anderson, am going to be one of the greatest attorneys the United States has ever seen.' Why do I feel like I'm taking the bar oath already?"

"I'm just messing with you," Kurt giggled. "But you know I'm right. I see nothing but amazing things ahead for you, Blaine."

Neither of them knew just how right Kurt would be, exactly. In the same way, neither of them knew what the future had in store for the two of them personally as well.

xxx

_Summer 2020_

It didn't take Blaine very long at all to figure out how much he loved being a lawyer. Every day for the first three years of his career he walked into Jensen & Clark, the small firm where he worked as an associate, with a smile on his face. Well, that was a lie. He wasn't literally _smiling _every time he got to work, but it still made him happy. He enjoyed arguing cases for people and helping them know their rights, and he would have been content to have a career like this for the rest of his life.

But all that changed one morning when Blaine's boss and one of the co-partners of the firm, a man by the name of Jason Clark, called him into his office to discuss "something important."

Blaine wiped his clammy palms on his dress slacks before opening the door and stepping into his boss's office. Jason Clark was only about ten years older than Blaine was, but something about him was highly intimidating. As Blaine stepped into Clark's office, he could do nothing but expect the worst.

Clark was sitting at his desk when Blaine came in and greeted him warmly. "Hey there, Blaine, go ahead and have a seat."

Blaine walked across the room and sank down into the chair his boss had indicated with shaky knees. "Am I in trouble?" he asked warily.

Clark let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to present a new opportunity to you, one I think you would enjoy very much."

He cleared his throat before continuing. "Blaine, there's no doubt that you're an extremely gifted attorney, but with the amount of success you've had lately I'm starting to think you're almost _too _good."

Blaine practically swallowed his own Adam's apple. _So they're going to fire me because I'm too good at what I do? Is that even allowed? I thought this was supposed to be about something good_.

"O-okay," he stammered, not sure of what else to say.

"What I'm saying, Blaine, is that a young attorney of your caliber doesn't belong at a small town firm like Jensen & Clark. You should be somewhere…I don't know. Somewhere much _bigger_. A powerful firm in a big city. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I…I guess so. Yes," Blaine said, trying his hardest to figure out where this was going.

"My brother-in-law, Andrew Carter, has a very powerful firm out in Chicago," Clark said, sliding a business card across the desk. Blaine picked it up and scanned the information. _Carter & Perry, Attorneys at Law_. "They're looking to hire some new associates and he asked me if I had anyone working here that I thought would be up for it. I recommended you."

Blaine had to blink a few times in disbelief to make sure he was actually here and this was really happening. "You…want me to go for it? I mean, I'm honored that you think I'm qualified for this, but are you sure? _Me_?"

"I'm positive. And Carter & Perry seem to think so, too. Andrew just called me yesterday afternoon and told me they've looked at your credentials and want to interview you."

Blaine sat there in stunned silence for a few seconds, trying to let all of this soak in.

"If I were you, I'd call the number on that card and let them know who you are, so you can try and get a phone interview set up or something. I think you'd be great for this, Blaine. You've got too much talent for a place like this."

Blaine thought back to the phone conversation he'd had with Kurt three years earlier, when he'd first gotten his bar exam results. He distinctly recalled how Kurt had insisted on what a great career Blaine was going to have and thought that this might be his chance to prove his friend right.

"Will do." He stood up and shook his boss's hand with an appreciative smile. "Thank you _so _much, Mr. Clark. I'm definitely looking forward to this."

He stepped out into the hallway and immediately pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. As he walked back toward his own office, he began dialing Kurt's number so he could get his take on it, but as his thumb was hovering over the Call button, a sudden epiphany struck him like lightning. He forced himself to stop and think.

What was he _doing_? Why couldn't he just go work at this big firm in Chicago because _he _wanted to? Why did he have to see what _Kurt _thought about it, like they were some married couple? Kurt had always been the very first person Blaine had sought out when he needed advice, but maybe he needed to stop doing that. Kurt had his own life and his own family and the last thing he needed a ball and chain attached to his ankle in the form of his lovesick high school best friend.

In that moment, there was no longer any shadow of a doubt in Blaine's mind. He _had _to get that job and move to Chicago if it meant letting go of Kurt. Sure, they could still be friends – they'd formed too strong a friendship over the years to just simply let it go. But Blaine needed to stop being so dependent on Kurt and this was the only way to make that happen. He had to accept the fact that Kurt wasn't his – _would never _be his. Kurt had Dave and Ellie and a fun job teaching music over at Lincoln Elementary. What did Blaine have? A shitty romantic track record and a job at a quaint little law firm, and that was about it.

And maybe this move would be a chance for Blaine to _finally _find someone of his own. His sad excuse of a love life had seen three or four boyfriends come along, only to have the romance fizzle out after a few weeks when Blaine found that his heart was no longer in it. He hated admitting it even to himself, but the reason he no longer felt a romantic connection to any of those guys was because they weren't _Kurt_. Maybe being four hundred miles away from Kurt would finally force Blaine to stop comparing every single potential boyfriend to him. Otherwise, he figured, he was on track to die alone with seventeen cats.

Blaine closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he shoved his phone back into his pocket, then opened his eyes again slowly. He knew what he had to do.

xxx

August 25, 2020 should have been a good day for Kurt. Not only was it Ellie's sixth birthday, but it was also her first day of kindergarten, which every parent knows is a huge milestone in the life of their child. And the day started off well, that much was certain. For breakfast that morning he made Ellie her favorite chocolate chip pancakes, and he and Dave even let her open her presents before school. But when all was said and done and Dave was helping Ellie get all her last-minute things ready before they started taking the obligatory first-day-of-school pictures, Kurt thought this would be a good time to inform the world just how proud of a father he was.

He opened the Facebook app on his phone and typed a quick status – _My little girl turns 6 AND starts kindergarten today! I would complain about how old I suddenly feel, but I love Ellie too much to be anything but happy for her_. After posting it, he thumbed through the rest of his newsfeed, not particularly caring about anything until one specific status update caught his eye.

_It's official! Got the job at Carter & Perry. Chicago, here I come_!

It had been posted by Blaine the previous evening. Kurt knew his stomach shouldn't have been sinking at the thought of Blaine moving so far away, but it did. Suddenly he wished he wouldn't have seen that.

"Daddy!" His daughter's cheerful voice suddenly interrupted all thoughts of Blaine he shouldn't have been having in the first place. "Can we please take the pictures now?"

"I'm coming, sweetie," he murmured absentmindedly, tucking his phone away and grabbing his camera off the kitchen counter. Ellie was waiting by the front door of the cozy apartment where the family lived, giggling as she twirled around in the brand new dress she'd picked out for her first day of school.

"All right, say 'cheese'!" he told her, lifting the camera to snap the first shot.

Ellie stopped twirling and gave the camera a big smile. She had Kurt's smile, and Kurt had inherited his from his mother. "Cheeeeeese!"

Dave placed an affectionate hand on Kurt's shoulder as the shorter man proceeded to snap picture after picture of their little girl smiling that gorgeous Hummel smile. "Kinda funny how people and things just change so fast, isn't it?"

Kurt let his mind wander back to the status update he'd just seen a few minutes earlier. "Yeah," he said. "It is."

xxx

That weekend, Kurt and Dave had a birthday party for Ellie at a new park that had just opened up a few blocks away from their apartment building. Blaine had been invited, even if he didn't have a kid of his own that could come to the party, because Kurt thought it would be a good chance for them to say goodbye.

Yes, those had been the exact words from the voicemail Kurt had left him earlier in the week. _I know you're going to be really busy getting ready to move, but I thought this would be a nice chance to see each other one last time and say goodbye_. Blaine's heart had clenched when he heard those words being spoken in Kurt's soft voice through the phone. Kurt almost sounded _sad _that Blaine was leaving.

He got out of his car and headed over toward the little picnic shelter where it looked like the party was in full swing. Luckily Kurt saw Blaine before anyone else did and immediately came over to greet him halfway between the parking lot and the shelter.

"You came," he said softly, a hint of a smile playing his lips.

Blaine shrugged and tried to keep his tone as nonchalant as possible, even though he could see in Kurt's eyes just how happy he was. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know, I guess I thought you would feel left out since you don't have a kid and I don't think you would know any of the other parents that are here, but I wanted to invite you because I know you're going to be busy with packing this week and getting things ready for Chicago and—"

Kurt was absolutely adorable when he was rambling nervously, so of course Blaine acted without thinking. He quickly silenced Kurt with the press of a finger to his lips.

"Kurt," he said.

They were looking into each other's eyes and Blaine still had his index finger pressed against Kurt's lips – which, as he realized, were even softer than he'd dreamed. _Oh my god_. What would that feel like pressed up against Blaine's own lips?

But he didn't have time to think about things that would never happen. Not even when Kurt's lips parted just slightly and he gasped the tiniest bit and he _trembled_.

Blaine was having sudden flashbacks to that Enrique Iglesias song as he took his hand away from Kurt's mouth and instead placed it reassuringly on his shoulder. _Would you tremble if I touched your lips_? If you were Kurt, Blaine thought, apparently you did.

"This doesn't have to be 'goodbye,'" Blaine told him gently. "We can still be friends, just as we always have. The only difference is that I'll be in a different time zone and four hundred miles away."

"I know," Kurt said quietly. "I guess…I'm just going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Kurt. Come here." Blaine pulled him into a hug, wanting nothing more than to feel Kurt close to him one more time. This was all there had ever been between them – just sweet, friendly hugs. There would never be anything more. Blaine decided to take advantage of this moment and tightened his arms around Kurt, pulling him closer. He wished he could hold Kurt like this forever.

They pulled back from the hug and locked eyes for a moment. For a fraction of a nanosecond, Blaine considered letting go of all his inhibitions and leaning in to kiss him. It would have been so simple and nobody would have noticed. Dave was over at the picnic shelter, keeping the party under control. He wouldn't have been able to see them very well. And from the look in Kurt's eyes, it seemed very possible that he wanted to kiss Blaine, too.

But Blaine couldn't do it, because even though Dave was far away he was _still here _and they were at _Kurt's daughter's birthday party _for crying out loud. He forced himself to break the hug and gave Kurt a rueful smile.

"I…um, I brought my guitar. It's in my car," he told Kurt, hitching a thumb back toward his car in the parking lot. "That rhymed. Anyway. You think Ellie would mind if I did a special rendition of Happy Birthday, just for her?"

To his delight, Kurt smiled. "I think she would love that."

xxx

_January 2021_

Dave Karofsky had gone five entire months without seeing neither hide nor hair of one Blaine Anderson, which honestly made him really fucking happy. The guy had been practically following Kurt around like a lost puppy for the last decade or so and it was nice to _finally _have him out of their lives. Blaine was up in Chicago doing God knows what at some big important law firm, and Dave was finally content to live his own life with his own family in Ohio.

So imagine his surprise one frigid day near the end of January when he got a call on his cell just as he was about to leave the office. He didn't recognize the number, but for whatever reason he sank back into his desk chair and answered it anyway. "Hello?"

"Hi, Dave? This is Blaine Anderson."

_Fuck_. What the hell did he want? "Hello, Blaine," he said unenthusiastically.

"Hey, listen, are you busy right now?" Blaine asked.

Dave rolled his eyes. _What's it to you_? "I'm just about to leave work, I got nothing going on the rest of the night. How come?"

"You wanna come meet me for a drink over at the bar on East 12th? I…I kinda need to talk to you and get some things off my chest."

Okay, now Dave was just really fucking confused. "You live in Chicago, Anderson. I am in Ohio. What, did you just magically Apparate here or whatever the hell they do in Harry Potter?"

Blaine laughed. "No, actually, I'm in town because Carter & Perry sent me to represent the firm at a legal seminar in Columbus this week. So what do you say, can you come?"

Dave really didn't want to, but it had been forever since he'd had a good drink. Besides, Blaine inviting him out implied that Blaine was buying, and Dave was a bit of a cheapskate. "Let me just call Kurt and tell him. Actually, can he come? I'm sure he'll want to see you and it'll probably be less awkward, y'know, because you and him know each other better than you and I do."

"Oh, no, please don't tell him," Blaine begged. "I don't want him to know I'm in town. Please."

Dave considered this. Part of him wanted to punch the living daylights out of Anderson – how dare he tell Dave what he could and couldn't tell his boyfriend – but at the same time, Blaine had a point. If Kurt knew Blaine was in town, then he'd be spending all his time with him.

"Fine," Dave grumbled. "I'm on my way."

He hung up before Blaine could even finish saying goodbye.

xxx

Half an hour later, Dave was sitting at a dingy bar next to the biggest douchebag he'd ever met, who had at least had the courtesy to buy him a beer.

He took a swig to finish off his beer and set the empty bottle down on the bar. "So I still don't get why we're here."

Blaine looked like an even bigger douchebag than usual today. His hair was gelled back all perfectly and he was wearing a suit that looked straight out of the pages of Calvin Klein's catalog. Or Ralph Lauren's. Kurt would know.

"I just wanted to apologize to you, Dave," Blaine said. His voice was quiet but polite. "I…I think it's quite obvious that I have feelings for Kurt and I don't think I've handled myself appropriately over the past several years. I should have left the two of you alone to live your own life instead of always clinging desperately to Kurt, trying to get him to keep me around, and that's not fair to you. I'm sorry."

Dave stared at him – well, tried to stare at him, his vision was already the tiniest bit blurry around the edges. "Excuse me?"

"Hey, um, two more, please," Blaine told the bartender, who immediately produced two new bottles of beer and slid them to Blaine and Dave.

"Yeah, um. I'm in love with Kurt. I love him," Blaine admitted, biting his lip nervously. It was the first time Dave had ever seen him so afraid of anything. Blaine finally forced himself to meet Dave's eyes. "I have been since high school. I thought you deserved to know that. Please don't think I have any intentions of trying to steal him away from you, or anything like that. I would never do that. He's obviously happy with you, and all I want is for him to be happy. Trying to get him for myself and taking away his happiness like that would be the most selfish thing I could possibly do."

Dave picked up his new beer and took a long sip. He must have downed half the bottle before he finally set it down and spoke again.

"You'd better not, do you understand me?" he growled, leaning in closer to Blaine.

Blaine leaned away from Dave on his stool and held both hands up as a sign of surrender and innocence. "Hey, I told you I'm not going to do that. I didn't have the balls to tell him how I felt back in high school. You got him, fair and square. I just thought I would kind of clear the air so you know exactly what my feelings for him are."

He turned towards the bar and absently ran his fingers over the grains in the wood. "Besides, he'd never go for me, anyway."

Dave couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed the fabric at the front of Blaine's fancy dress shirt and forced the smaller man to face him. A wild flash of fear suddenly appeared in Blaine's eyes. Good. He _should _be scared.

"Don't you _dare _say that," he spat. "I have been turning the other way since the end of senior year in high school, pretending not to notice the way you two look at each other. The way Kurt's entire fucking _face _just starts to fucking _glow _whenever he sees you. You think I like that? You think I _enjoy _seeing my boyfriend look at another guy like that? How do you think that makes _me _feel? Huh?"

Blaine opened his mouth but no words came out, so Dave continued.

"You can't tell me that Kurt doesn't have feelings for you," he sneered. "He always has. And I'm sick of pretending not to give a fuck about it."

Blaine quickly pulled himself free from Dave's grasp in one swift motion and adjusted his clothes, which had become wrinkled when Dave grabbed his shirt. "I…I have to go. I'm going to call a cab, I don't know if I should drive," he said hastily, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "I never should have come here tonight."

He made to turn away and was about to press the phone to his ear, but suddenly he turned back to face Dave at the bar. "Oh, and whatever you do, _please _don't take this out on Kurt. He's _never _admitted to having feelings for me. I still don't think he does. He hasn't done anything wrong. Just don't take it out on him. _Please_."

Blaine quickly paced away and left the bar. There was nobody else in the bar, save for the bartender. Dave was alone.

He stayed at the bar for a long time that night, ordering drink after drink to drown away his misery. He couldn't make sense of his thoughts; his brain was a jumble of how much he hated Blaine Anderson and how much he suddenly hated Kurt.

Dave didn't know if he really hated Kurt or if that was just the alcohol talking. Either way, there was no way in hell he was going to listen to a word Anderson said. Especially not the last few words he'd said before leaving the bar.

Kurt was going to _pay _when he got home. 

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews are always appreciated. (And yes, I AM working on getting LiBaM updated, that should probably happen later this week).<br>**


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